Eggplant, Tomato and Chickpea Casserole

Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

This dish is based on a Middle Eastern staple traditionally served with fresh Arabic bread at room temperature, though I like to serve it warm. The casserole tastes best if made a day ahead.

1 large eggplant or 2 medium (1 pound), peeled if desired, cut in half lengthwise, then sliced about 1/2 inch thick

Salt to taste

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, sliced thin across the grain

2 to 4 garlic cloves (to taste), minced

1 (28-ounce) can chopped tomatoes

2 tablespoons tomato paste

Pinch of sugar

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

1 sprig basil

1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained

3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and brush the foil with olive oil. Place the eggplant slices on the foil, sprinkle with salt and brush each slice lightly with oil. Place in the oven for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from the heat, and carefully fold the foil in half over the eggplant. Crimp the edges together, so that the eggplant is sealed inside the foil and will continue to steam and soften. Leave for at least 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the onion. Cook, stirring often, until tender, about five minutes, and add the garlic and a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant, about a minute. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, cinnamon, basil and salt to taste. Bring to a simmer, and simmer uncovered, stirring often, for 20 to 25 minutes, until the sauce is thick and fragrant. Add freshly ground pepper, then taste and adjust salt. Remove the basil sprig, and stir in the drained chickpeas.

3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Oil a 2-quart baking dish or gratin. Cover the bottom with thin layer of tomato sauce, and make a layer of half the eggplant. Spoon half the remaining sauce over the eggplant, and repeat the layers.

4. Bake 30 minutes, until bubbling. Remove from the heat, and allow to cool for at least 10 to 15 minutes. Sprinkle on the parsley before serving.

Yield: Serves four to six.

Advance preparation: You can assemble this dish through step 3 up to two days ahead. Keep it in the refrigerator. Leftovers will be good for about three days.

Lentils

Over the last 6 months, I have gradually changed the diet of my family.  There have been a lot of ups and downs.  We started with drinking green smoothies everyday.  Then we started adding a salad to every dinner meal.  Then we started making homemade salad dressings and I admit that this one has been difficult for us.  I completely converted our cabinet oils (vegetable and canola) to olive oil and coconut oil.  This month, my goal has been to find 12 "staple" meals that can replace our once meat based meals.  Through this process of trying recipes two times (because the first time I always discover things I would change), we have really found a secret ingredient.  My new favorite ingredient is lentils!

  Lentils require no soaking or extra preparation.  I have found they make a very logical replacement for meat and they are super filling.  When combined with a whole grain, they can make a complete protein.  So for those of you who think that meat is the best protein source... here you can cook a nutritious meal and walk away with a comparable protein source.  I ran across a "lentils taco recipe" which really sparked my interest in lentils.  I mean, who doesn't love tacos?  It took 20-30 minutes to make and was almost as quick as a ground beef taco recipe.  I prepared the lentils as directed on the package, however, in the preparation process I added a package of taco seasoning (I used one without MSG).  I made homemade wheat tortillas, added some lettuce, tomatoes and salsa.  It was delicious!  I have since made lentil enchiladas (which isn't as whole food friendly because I used a green chili enchilada sauce) and lentil nacho chips minus the nacho cheese and made from homemade corn tortilla chips.  I will include recipes for these at a later date. 

  So if you are out there looking for a good way to start using more beans and creating more whole foods based meals... seek out lentils.  They are quick, easy and delicious.  They smell a bit gross but we love them!

The Start

A little over a year ago, I was pregnant with my 5th child.  I found myself with an offer from a friend to come over and visit.  It was 7 at night and I was nauseous and exhausted being in my first trimester.  I decided that I needed to get out of the house.  We had just moved and my husband had made a career change which took him to the middle east.  We had moved back home and I needed to start our new lives.  Little did I know that the evening would change the rest of my life.

When I arrived at my friend's house, the conversation was on nutrition.  Through the course of the evening, I heard many claims and theories about nutrition that disagreed with much of what I had learned to this point.  I was most interested in the idea of converting our diets slowly from the standard American diet consisting of approximately 20% protein, where meat was our main course, to a 5% meat  and 60-80% raw diet.  I was baffled about where to start and how to make these changes successful.  However, one big name stuck with my that night... Green Smoothie Girl.

Some months passed and I tried my hand at green smoothies.  I did a little research to try and add green smoothies to my diet.  My friends claimed that 1 qt of green smoothies a day would change my life.  At this point, I was in my second trimester and feeling much better, but the day in and day out of life was very draining.  So, I made the attempt at green smoothies.  I quickly quit that habit.  I found them very gross.  I was at a loss at to how to make them correctly.  At this point, I was just throwing in any green I could buy at the grocery store.  Lettuce, spinach, kale, collards, broccoli, and an apple with a banana.  Oh the combinations were horrendous!  So, I left it at that.

The idea to change the diet of my family kept coming back to me.  I was haunted by the need to provide good nutrition for my children.  I was quickly approaching the worst shape of my life.  I needed to change.  This time, I looked up that name that I remembered from that night so many months ago... greensmoothiegirl.com.  I found that greensmoothiegirl.com offered a 12 steps to whole foods course and I was interested.  I saved for a few months to be able to order the course and take this step to changing our lives.  We have since been changing one thing about our diet a month in order to make a lasting change in our lives.  We are far from perfect though.  Perfection comes with practice though, right?

I have been amazed at the changes.  There have been some uncomfortable side effects but we have also discovered a wide variety of amazing combinations from our plant kingdom!  I hope that here I can document some of the changes we have made.  I hope to add some ups and downs, document the positive changes in our lives and compile a database of "staple" recipes made from whole foods and most anyone will love.